


Old Soldiers

by Laci_Taleweaver



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: (except they've already gone through the first bit decades ago), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Old Age, saiyan vs human lifespan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 22:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17333696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laci_Taleweaver/pseuds/Laci_Taleweaver
Summary: Many years have passed, and loved ones are gone.  Two old rivals offer each other comfort.  May get lemony--watch the ratings.





	Old Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

> I started this over a year ago, and am just now picking it back up. The idea just keeps nagging at me. After all, it's established that Saiyans live for far longer than humans, which means that Goku, Vegeta, and their descendants will all stay young until such a great age that People Will Notice. So what happens then?

**AGE 821**

 

He still couldn't believe it had happened.

  
Even though he'd sat watching her grow old while he still looked and felt young, he still couldn't believe Chichi was gone. A tear rolled down Goku's cheek as he dug a grave for the woman he'd relied on for his entire adult life.

He would bury her next to Grandpa Gohan. He was sure the old man would have loved her too.

Goku lifted the frail body, wishing that she would open her eyes and say anything. Even screaming at him the way she always had when she was angry with him was better than the silent stillness.

Nothing. Her body was growing cold, too. He couldn't even pretend she was just sleeping.

The earth's protector sighed and lowered his wife's body gently into the ground, as though he could still cause her pain if he wasn't careful. He couldn't look at her as he buried her. It hurt too much. Time had turned the lovely young warrior into an old woman, and now she was dead. What was he supposed to do now? So many of his old friends were gone: Bulma, Yamcha, Tienshinhan, Krillin. Even Chiaotsu had succumbed to old age last year. His children had children of their own--Gohan was even a grandfather!

Piccolo had started to look as old as Kami, and while the Namekian had been an ally for a long time, he and Goku weren't exactly friends. Both his sons and all his grandchildren were busy at their jobs. Gohan was even busier than usual, with that book he was writing.

There was only one other person left from his youth who was still alive.

Vegeta.

 

* * *

 

Rather than instantly transmit inside the building, Goku knocked on the door of Capsule Corp. He'd upset Bulma and frightened Trunks's security team enough times over the years to have learned his lesson.

A butler answered the door. He looked Goku up and down, disdain clear on his face. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Son Goku! I'm here to see--"

"Let me guess," the butler cut him off. "You're an 'old friend of the Briefs family,' and you're just here for a totally unscheduled visit with Mr. Briefs? A likely story. Now get out of here, you ruffian!"

Trunks had overheard the commotion and gently moved the butler out of the way. "It's all right, Percy. I'll handle it."

"But sir--"

"Go prepare a pot of tea for my guest, please." Trunks then turned to Goku. "I take it you have bad news, Uncle." Trunks knew that he and Goku weren't related, but he'd known the man all his life. Goku and Bulma had been as close as family, and for Trunks, the old habit of calling him "Uncle Goku" had never worn off.

"She's...she's gone, Trunks," Goku said, blinking back tears. "We were married for 60 years..." (This comment would start a new round of gossip among the cleaning staff, who still couldn't figure out how 55-year-old Trunks managed to look so young and vibrant.)

Trunks hugged the older man. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Come in and have some tea. I'll go get Father."

 

Percy entered the sitting room with an English-style tea tray. A small plate of cookies sat next to two dainty teacups and a flowered teapot. The butler, still uncertain why Trunks had let the scruffy-looking young man in, kept his mouth tightly shut as he poured the tea. After all, it may be peculiar, but a good butler never pries into other people's business.

Goku had just taken a sip of the tea when Vegeta, Prince of Saiyans, entered the room, his son behind him.

Still vain as a peacock, the older saiyan was wearing a muscle shirt and a pair of jeans so tight they looked as if they were painted on. Despite being nearly 90 years old, Vegeta barely looked 40. A few gray hairs and the barest hint of crow's feet were the only signs of aging he'd showed in all this time.

"It's been a while, Kakarot," he said, face hiding all signs of emotion. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" As he sat down, Vegeta scowled at the tea tray, which might be fine for human guests to snack on but was wholly inadequate for a saiyan.

"Chichi's...gone." Goku still couldn't bring himself to say the word _dead_ , as if this were all a nightmare and saying the word would make it real.

The lines around Vegeta's eyes softened. "So you've lost your wife too." Bulma had been gone for three years, and Vegeta still missed her fiery temper and infectious optimism. The woman had been a genius, and Trunks had inherited her intelligence and charm. His son, and his pride, were the only reasons Vegeta hadn't taken his own life when he'd seen the hospital heart monitor flatline. Losing both parents so close together would have been too hard on the boy.

"I just...she was so brave, and...she always knew what to do...I loved her," Goku choked out before bursting into tears. Vegeta remembered a similar outpouring of emotion on his own part when Bulma died, though he'd been careful not to do so openly. "A prince must never show weakness" had been drilled so harshly into him that even becoming a widower hadn't been enough to dislodge the old lessons. He--oh gods, was he really going to do this?--he reached out a gloved hand and patted the other saiyan on the shoulder.

"It's like a part of you is missing, isn't it?" Vegeta said, so quietly only the three of them could hear. Trunks was surprised at the sudden confession. His father almost never said anything about his thoughts or feelings.

"What do I do, Vegeta? I can't even be in our old house anymore; it isn't home without her," Goku sobbed. The man who'd always been able to think two steps ahead in battle was in over his depth and couldn't think ahead even to the next day. He just knew that he _couldn't_ return to Mt. Paozu.

"You can stay with us," Trunks said. Both saiyans looked up in surprise. "We have plenty of extra rooms, so it's no hardship. I'll send someone over to get your clothes."

 

* * *

 

  
In some ways, it was easier to sleep in a bed that wasn't his own and didn't have any familiar scents. Better, at least, than trying to sleep in his own bed, next to the empty space that should not be empty. After all, he'd been away from home overnight on many occasions, training. He could just pretend it was that.

He woke slowly the next morning. The first thing he was aware of was holding someone. But instead of the frail, wrinkled, soft body of Chichi, the person in his arms was all firm muscle. Chichi hadn't felt like that in years.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Goku's eyes snapped open. He was in Vegeta's room!

"Vegeta! I'm so sorry," Goku said, quickly pulling away from the man in his arms. "I must have popped over here in my sleep."

"You've never appeared in other people's beds before."

"Well," Goku sighed, "I never lost my wife before, either."

"Kakarot, if you think you're going to seduce me with that line, you've got another thing coming."

"Seduce you?" Kakarot was confusd now. "I was just--"

"GET OUT OF MY BEDROOM, YOU IDIOT!"


End file.
